IPHONE: Media winners and losers — Nothing like a big story — and this week's unveiling of Apple's new cellphone was a huge story for the tech press — to sort out the players. Who got access? Who's stuck explaining embarrassingly wrong predictions? Who got caught up in the notorious …

eBay buys StubHub, online ticket reseller, for $310M — StubHub, an online site for reselling tickets to events, has been acquied by eBay for $310 million, minting the latest Silicon Valley millionaires in co-founders Jeff Fluhr and Eric Baker. — The controversial company has grown steadily, badgering eBay's business for years.

Planned features for Firefox 3 — In today's Firefox 3 (code name Gran Paradiso) meeting, developers released a preliminary list of requirements for Firefox 3. The new target release date is sometime in the third quarter this year. — Among the list of mandatory requirements, read …

'Craplets' could damage Vista launch: Microsoft exec — A senior Microsoft Corp. executive says the company is concerned that uncertified third-party software loaded onto new computers by manufacturers could hurt the launch of consumer versions of its Windows Vista operating system later this month.

Check Your Google Standing With Free Tools — We are sharing a small list of online tools to help you guage your site rankings in Google. These tools are absolutely free and you don't have to share your email address for using any of them. — Live Google PageRank …

Hands-on with IPTV on Xbox 360 — We had a chance to check out Microsoft's IPTV offering for Xbox 360, announced earlier this week during Bill Gates' CES keynote, and get answers to some of the questions that have been nagging at us since first hearing about the service.

Sony to Include Portable Movie Files on Blu-Ray DVDs — Hands On: Crysis! — The CES demo of Crytek's gorgeous first-person shooter Crysis is a brief one—too brief, considering the amazing DirectX 10 graphics and effects. You could run through the thing in about 5 minutes without really trying …

Senator to FCC: Don't even think about a broadcast flag — Senator John Sununu (R-NH) has just announced that his office is working on legislation that would prevent the FCC from creating specific technology mandates that have to be followed by consumer electronics manufacturers. What's his target?

Firms Fret as Office E-Mail Jumps Security Walls — Companies spend millions on systems to keep corporate e-mail safe. If only their employees were as paranoid. — A growing number of Internet-literate workers are forwarding their office e-mail to free Web-accessible personal accounts offered by Google, Yahoo and other companies.

MPAA Caught Uploading Fake Torrents — It is no secret that the MPAA and other anti-piracy organizations track down alleged pirates by uploading fake torrents. Up until now it was always unclear where those files came from, and how to identify them. — The MPAA and other anti-piracy watchdogs try …

Breaking: MTV in Talks with Ziff Davis — 1UP.com may soon join GameTrailers as part of MTV Networks. A well-placed source informed GameDaily BIZ that MTV Networks and Ziff Davis Media are currently negotiating a deal. More within... At the end of December, the always interesting PaidContent.org

New PayPal key to help thwart phishers — Additional password-generating security measure should be opened to beta users within the next month — Over the next few months, Ebay will be offering its PayPal users a new tool in the fight against phishers: a $5 security key.

Phone Shows Apple's Impact on Consumer Products — Apple's new iPhone appears to be the clearest statement yet of what Steve Jobs's impact has been on consumer electronics. — It is not that he invents new technologies. He refines existing ones. — Mr. Jobs himself acknowledged …

Skype Throws Cold Water on Cell Version — Don't expect a version of Skype for cellular phones anytime soon. A company executive told Reuters Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that data plans are still too costly to make such a version viable.

How to Lose Your Shirt in Second Life — Magnus Rothlisberger, a resident of Second Life, describes in the Second Life Herald how he lost the equivalent of $1,153 on blackjack tables in the virtual world. It's hilarious partly because it's so well-told,but also because it's so awful.

Choosing Secure Passwords — Ever since I wrote about the 34,000 MySpace passwords I analyzed, people have been asking how to choose secure passwords. — My piece aside, there's been a lot written on this topic over the years — both serious and humorous — but most of it seems to be based …